Compass Points 169

Who wants a better life? A slimmer bod? A new husband? A million pounds? Well, maybe all you need to do is wish for it. No, this isn’t the theme of the next Disney movie, but something known as “manifesting” – which is all the rage in the self- help world at present.  A book entitled The Secret, which you are no doubt aware of, has sold 20 million copies by espousing the theory that anything can be yours if you wish for it hard enough. “Manifesting” is also the central idea behind Gabrielle Bernstein’s book May Cause Miracles (pb, £10.99, 978 1781800607) published by Hay House which is available now. This week there was a splendid article in the Mail featuring Gabrielle Bernstein, entitled The Woman Who Swears She Found a Husband Just By WISHING: Don't Laugh. A Best-selling Book Says She Could Be Right. In the piece, Gabrielle says everyone should daydream for at least two minutes a day and try to change negative thoughts into positive affirmations. “Try to visualise what you want to create, then commit to that belief and take actions to help follow it through,” she says. Have a read of that right here. Maybe you’ll be able to wish yourself right out of that bookshop and onto a Caribbean island!

Until then, there’s always Disney to fall back on – whether it’s  the blue fairy,  a fairy godmother or even a wishing well, that you’re hoping will turn your wishes into reality. Well, it all worked out OK for Pinocchio, Cinderella and Snow White – so maybe Ms Bernstein is actually onto something here.

Congratulations to all the winning bookshops in the British Book Industry Awards 2016 which were announced this week.  Fab indie Winstone’s (founded by Wayne Winstone) was crowned winner of the £5,000 Independent Bookshop of the Year prize. According to the judges it showed "strong, market-beating sales growth”, “exceptional” customer service and outreach work in the community. “What Wayne has done with the shop is remarkable,” they said. “He took a huge risk but it has paid off magnificently. Winstone’s is supremely good at what it does day in, day out, year after year. It’s obviously adored in its community and ambitious to expand. There’s a very exciting future ahead." Individuals in the trade were also rewarded for their hard work. Jonny Green, manager of Waterstones Piccadilly, was awarded the title Bookshop Manager of the Year, for his “meteoric rise” from a Leicester bookshop temp to running two of the country’s most iconic bookshops in six years (the other being Hatchards). He is credited with having a transformative effect on sales and service at the Waterstone’s flagship and for “inspirational leadership”. Marian Mouzinho of Blackwell’s bagged Young Retailer of the Year. She is the fourth Blackwell’s staffer to win the award in six years and credited in revolutionising Blackwell’s children’s bookselling in Newcastle, leading a “huge” events programme and establishing key external partnerships. Her colleagues called her “the definition of going above and beyond”. Many congrats all round!

Feeling angry that your bookshop didn’t win? Then you will need this! Eleven fictional curse words that you can start using right now in your everyday life – “Ficky Fick” and “Ach Crivens” sound especially useful….

Parenting is harder than you think, but most parents are too knackered to notice. Nothing can prepare you for what lies ahead: you'll lose sleep and gain weight; you won't have a proper day off for years; you'll become slovenly in how you dress and you'll find the years are slipping away faster than ever. Or is that just me. But the amazing thing is, whatever your children do to you, you'll love them just the same. The Ups and Downs of Being a Parent is a very funny on the “joys” of parenthood, featuring more than 120 laugh out loud cartoons drawn by Tony Husband. Best of all, it'll help you see where everybody else is going wrong! This is a perfect cute and light-hearted present that can be shared and enjoyed by different generations by one of the country's best-loved cartoonists – best known perhaps for his work in Private Eye. The Ups and Downs of Being a Parent by Tony Husband (hb, £7.99, 978 1785997051) is published in August by Arcturus and you can find out more here.

Talking of parenting, many of you will have children who are currently knuckling down to exams – whether it’s the much maligned SATs reading paper or an A level in Further Maths. And all over the country we tiger parents are right behind them, pushing them ever harder. How to Get into Oxbridge is a title from academic publishers Kogan Page that many will seize on with joy, hoping it might give their little ones the extra oomph required to get them out from under the duvet and off to the dreaming spires. This book includes practical and insider knowledge that can't be found elsewhere - like how to strategically choose a college to boost the chances of admission, and how to interpret and respond to interview questions in a way that demonstrates intellectual curiosity and academic potential. There are sample personal statements; examples of interview questions for all subjects plus practical advice on fees and funding and how to manage parents and peers. How to Get Into Oxbridge: A Comprehensive Guide to Succeeding in Your Application Process by Dr Christopher See (pb, £14.99, 978 0749463274) is available now – I can assure you this title will sell as I have known parents of kids as young as 4 buy this type of book – maybe put it in the children’s section next to The Very Hungry Caterpillar? Nice window Heffers btw – thanks very much !

The publicity bulldozer continues to roll on for My Italian Bulldozer (hb, £14.99, 978 1846973550) by published this month by Polygon. There’s a great article in The National which you can read here on why Alexander McCall Smith chose Italy as the setting for this new novel.

And you’ll be pleased to hear that there will be an eleventh book in the hugely successful 44 Scotland Street series coming in August. Over 120,000 copies have now been sold of this delightful series, and the arrival of The Bertie Project will make this the longest running serial novel in the world! Serialisation in the Scotsman starts in spring, along with a BBC Radio 4 adaptation. The Bertie Project by Alexander McCall Smith (hb, £16.99, 978 1846973598) is published in August by Polygon and you can find out more here.

Who doesn’t LOVE a bomb-based thriller? Whether it’s the iconic “there’s a bomb on the bus” from Speed or some of the scenes from Spooks and James Bond; a countdown to kaboom has got to be one of the best plot drivers ever. Have a watch here of the top ten tensest countdowns!

Coming in July is A State of Fear by Joseph Clyde, which is the pseudonym of George Walden, the former Booker Prize chairman, journalist, diplomat and government minister. A Syrian decides to play dirty and plant two dirty bombs in Britain in this fast-paced thriller which the Daily Mail called “compelling and packed with insight… deserves to be a best-seller.” Following the US execution of Bin Laden, a Syrian sleeper cell detonates a nuclear bomb in the heart of London by ramming a vehicle into the Bank of England. Forced to take shelter from the packed radiation dust, a seemingly random group of people gathers in a hairdressing salon nearby. They are all connected to the attack in some way, but how? Will they be able to prevent the bombers' next attack? A State of Fear by Joseph Clyde (pb, 978 1783340743, £8.99) is published by Gibson Square in July and you can find out more here.

And just to whet your appetites, here are the top ten nuclear bomb movie scenes!

A warm welcome to Arcadia, a new publisher for Compass – who bring us “beautiful literature from around the world, thanks to the considerable talents and dedication of our translators.” I notice in a recent Twitter debate entitled Who would win in a fight – translated fiction or English fiction?, that the translated fiction came out top, winning 78% of the vote!  In August comes Stone and Honey, which is a novel full of Greek flavour that will strongly appeal to fans of Patrick Leigh Fermor and Victoria Hislop. A beautiful vibrant novel, that captures one person’s dilemma when deciding between honour and love, this story is universal and at the same time a deeply personal tale of a love that surpasses distance, and survives time. Ideal for readers who love descriptions of the flavours and romance of the Mediterranean; Stone and Honey by Christine Zempi (pb, 978 1910050804, £9.99) is published by Arcadia in August and you can find out more here.

Plenty of publicity this week for I Find that Offensive from the excellent Provocations series this week. Its author Clare Fox claims that political correctness has now gone much too far and that “we’re all walking on eggshells, trying to avoid offending people. No matter where you go, somebody's going to say 'I find that offensive" There was a  great piece by Clare in the Evening Standard which you can read here  entitled The Fear of Giving Offence is Killing Democracy and Stifles Truth and an author interview on Talk Radio which you can listen to here. You can order I Find That Offensive (hb, £10.00, 978 1849549813) which has just been published by Biteback  here.

Another Provocations title certain to provoke even more controversy and debate is Manxiety by Dylan Jones, which is published in August.  “Masculinity, it seems, is in crisis, as more and more men claim to be suffering from manxiety and feelings of inadequacy and fearlessness. It seems not a week goes by when men are not being accused of being too violent, too stupid or too sexual...” Could it be time for a new men’s movement? Could it be time for a movement of their very own? Something that encourages men to fight back? Manxiety has reached such heights that men are perpetually in a state of stress, wondering where they fit into world that seemingly no longer has any use for them. In this controversial new book Dylan Jones asks is this true? Are men to be believed? And what should be done about it? Fortunately, he has all the answers.  Dylan Jones looks at men’s place in the modern home and workplace and the anxiety men are starting to feel regarding their loss of status in a world now dominated by women. Dylan is the high profile editor-in-chief of GQ and has written fifteen books on subjects as diverse as music, politics, etiquette and photography. His book about Cameron on Cameron, was shortlisted for the Channel 4 Political Book of the Year, while his biography of Jim Morrison was a New York Times bestseller. Manxiety (hb, £10.00, 978 1785900822) is published by Biteback and you can find out more about it here.

To finish with some tunes – lets have the top five Manxiety songs! Well, first up IMO is I’m a Man, by the very excellent Pulp. Anyone suffering from Manxiety will probably be going through their Nineteenth Nervous Breakdown and is maybe a little tired of being told that Boys Don't Cry. Wondering where you fit into this “mixed up muddled up modern world”? Then you certainly need to listen to Lola. But the number one Manxiety song must surely be this corker from the one and only Johnny Cash – performing in the St Quentin jail (and if that’s not going to give you a full blown attack of Manxiety than I don’t know what would!).

Compass is on Twitter! Follow us @CompassIPS. And this week it just has to be the best of #Eurovision!

Innocent drinks@innocent Voting lines open. Vote for the naked wolf guy. We've already lost Boaty McBoatface. We need this to keep our faith in democracy

Gavan Reilly ‏@gavreilly How did Belgium get permission to enter Fleur East's 'Sax'?

John Walton ‏@thatjohn Ukraine. Is this the one where she is basically singing THE RUSSIANS MURDERED MY ENTIRE FAMILY?

Ms Karie Bookish ‏@karieurovision I do love when Sweden hosts #Eurovision and throw casual one-liners about basic human rights.

Jonathan ‏@jayefron SHE LEARNT ENGLISH TO THE SPICE GIRLS, GIVE HER THE TROPHY ALREADY

Mark Mahon ‏@MarkMahon I'm a little confused by Australia in the #Eurovision pleased for them but it makes no sense to me

David Purdue ‏@DavidPurduedue Australia: The closest you'll come to seeing the Union Jack raised as the winner.

Rosemary Mac ‏@RosemaryMacCabe If they are soldiers of love, I wouldn't mind them storming my battlefield IF YOU KNOW WHAT I'M SAYING

Radio Times ‏@RadioTimes The UK's @JoeandJakemusic will be second last to perform at #Eurovision's Grand Final

Eurovision@Eurovision Hozier complimented Poland! How cool is that?

Gerry Stergiopoulos ‏@GerryGreek My favourite moment tonight was Mans storming the stage naked... That bod!! *Gerry hyperventilates

Margin of Ewa ‏@EwaSR OK so I really hope they're voting through songs you can go and make a cup of tea during #Eurovision

Alex T Smith ‏@Alex_T_Smith Bet Germany describes herself as "wacky" YOU DON’T HAVE TO BE MAD TO WORK HERE BUT IT HELPS LOL CAT EMOJI AHAHAHA

Innocent drinks ‏@innocent "Cos Uptown Belgian Funk gonna give it to you, Cos Uptown Belgian Funk gonna give it to you, Don't believe me just plagiarise."

Juno Dawson ‏@junodawson Germany not bothered about accusations of cultural appropriation then.

Melinda Salisbury ‏@AHintofMystery NORWAY DIDN'T GET THROUGH? This had better be some kind of sick, twisted joke. I was angry about Iceland, but this? No. No.

Irish ‏@IrishSunOnline Boss of Eurovision believes that Ireland should send #Jedward back to contest

Dustin The Turkey ‏@DustinOfficial As some form of consolation can we leave Marty Whelan over there? #Eurovision #robbed

Damien O'Meara @damien_omeara We didn't want to be in it anyway ye shower of hoors.

That’s all for now folks! More next week!

This blog is taken from a newsletter is sent weekly to over 700 booksellers as well as publishers and publicists. If you would like to order any of the titles mentioned, then click here  or talk to your Compass Sales representative.